Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There’s a particular phrase in sports that goes, “Father Time is undefeated.” With a bit of poetic flourish, it’s usually used in conversation surrounding great players at the end of their careers and signifies that no one can escape the effects of getting older. As great as the likes of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, and others might be, at the end of the day, Father Time eventually beats them all. It’s not meant to be a pessimistic sentiment, but rather a practical one, that realizes that all things and all people are affected by the passing of time.
It’s in light of such consideration that I want to give an update and plan for progress for what’s happening with Daily Mass during the week here at St. Charles. And so, first a bit of an update on Msgr. Dubell. After taking a good portion of November and December off from helping around the parish with Masses and confessions, towards the end of December Msgr. was feeling good enough to help with some of the Penance Services and with two Masses. But whether it was poor luck or he pushed too far, too fast, he unfortunately had a setback thereafter. And so, throughout January and February, he’s been unavailable to say Mass on Thursday and I’ve been alternating with Deacon Pat, one week with Mass, the next week with a Communion Service. We just heard from Msgr. Dubell this past week; he’s doing much better, but the plan moving forward is that he’s only going to help hear confessions, and not to celebrate Mass here at St. Charles.
This leaves a considerable logistical issue of how to proceed. While the alternating between Mass and a Communion Service works in a pinch, it’s still a bit tough for me to lose a good portion of the morning on my day off that way (although I love to celebrate the Mass) and I’m worried it leads to some confusion among the congregation of expecting one thing and sometimes getting another. I had been in contact with another local pastor who was also helped by Msgr. Dubell about the possibility of me saying a Mass there on his day off and him saying one here on my day off. However, that didn’t materialize. So now, what to do?
After much thought and prayer, I believe the best option for now, is to fully commit to having Communion Services on Thursdays moving forward. It’s not perfect, but it is still a way for the community to gather in prayer and share in the gift of the Eucharist. And all the Mass Intentions that were scheduled for the upcoming Thursdays will be transferred to Wednesdays, since it is already the multiple intention Mass during the week. If you still want to attend Mass on Thursdays, feel free to go to Sacred Heart at 8AM, OLGC or OLPH at 9AM, or Resurrection at Noon.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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